Chris Froome managed to finish safely in the peloton during today’s 163.5km fourth stage of the Tour de France from Le Touquet-Paris-Plage to Lille after receiving extensive treatment from the race doctor following a heavy fall.

German powerhouse Marcel Kittel (Giant Shimano) made it a hat-trick of victories by edging out Norway’s Katusha star Alexander Kristoff during a frantic finish contested by all the top sprinters with French champion Arnaud Demare (FDJ) in third and points leader Peter Sagan (Cannondale) fourth after surviving an earlier tumble.

Italian champion Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) held on to his lead in the overall standings with Slovokian showman Sagan second and Switzerland’s Michael Albasini in third.

Reigning champion Froome had gone down just 3.5km into the stage following the return of the race to France after a hugely successful three days in Great Britain.

Froome landed on his left, the side he injured during a heavy crash at the Dauphine Libere race last month, ripping open his shorts and sustaining a number of cuts and bruises.

The Briton was quickly back on his feet and members of the Sky team, which also includes Wales star Geraint Thomas, escorted him back to the peloton before he visited the doctor’s car for on the move attention to a thigh, knee, elbow, shoulder and both wrists, one of them being put in a splint.

“Chris felt fine in the final and felt good physically. We’re going to send him for a precautionary x-ray just to check his wrist,” said Team Sky boss Sir Dave Brailsford.

“We know these things can happen. It’s part and parcel of bike racing.”

“He hit the tarmac hard, but everything’s all right. I’m not superstitious, but this is one fall we could’ve done without.”

Froome’s team-mate Bernie Eisel said: “‘Froomey’ had no chance. A wave went from position 10 to last in the bunch and he just went down.

“He had a cast on his hand but he feels OK and, hopefully, we just lost some skin. Let’s hope for the best.”

With tomorrow’s stage between Ypres-Arenberg and Porte du Hainaut featuring some treacherous cobbled sections and a forecast of rain, the wrist injuries couldn’t have come at a worse time for Froome.

Dutch star Bauke Mollema (Belkin) was also a faller in the incident but appeared to be uninjured.

2010 winner Andy Schleck (Trek) was a non-starter after being injured during a fall in Essex yesterday, caused by the knock-on effect after a spectator attempting to take a photograph stepped too far out into the road and was clipped by Sky rider David Lopez.

Luxembourg rider Schleck tweeted: “Very disappointed to let you know that i will not be able to start. My knee is too damaged from the crash. This is a huge blow for me.”

A team spokesman said: “The ligaments and meniscus in the right knee are too severely damaged from his crash in yesterday’s final. He will travel to Basel for examination and a possible operation.”

Schleck has struggled for form and fitness since breaking his pelvis two years ago and came into this year’s Tour de France with the aim of helping his brother Fränk in the general classification.